Scylla
“Ever see one of them Scyllar gals going one on one with a Splugorth Slaver? It’s incredible! All punching or kicking tentacles, grappling for a grip, each one o’ them trying to twist the other’s limbs or head off! At the time, though, I didn’t realize one of them was trying to rescue me from the other! I thought them both wuz fightin’ to see who got to eat me! I didn’t know if I was to be rightly amazed at the sight, frightened to hell, or plain motion sick from trying to watch all that action going on at the same time!” Scyllan The Sapphire Cobras aren’t the only Tribe with a knack for radical and arguably frightening Elite classes, as anyone who has seen the Scyllan Elite can attest. Those who have, ascribe the design to the so-called ‘Monster Tribe’, though they would be surprised to learn that the Scyllans are found in BOTH the Darkwaters and Horrorwoods Tribes (although it is fairly rare). Description The Scylla resembles a Warchieftain(ess) from the waist up; below, the body splits into eight long octopus-like tentacles. Hydrojets in the hips help push the Elite through the water, just like a squid. Ponderous on land (the Scyllan needs at least three intact tentacles to stand up, and four to actually move), the Elite is pure murder underwater and in zero-gravity, able to launch multiple melee attacks. Coordinating all of these attacks fairly taxes even the psionic-positronic nervous systems of the Scyllans, so they have some of the best developed secondary ‘hind-brains’ of any Shemarrian/EShemar, and even then, feedback overload is said to give the Scyllans’ personality an edge of madness. The Scylla is believed to have first appeared during the latter stages of the Shemarrian Civil War, but was not known of outside the Tribe for many years afterwards, on account of the two-front war the Darkwaters were fighting, ashore against their Loyalist sisters, and at sea against the Splugorth. Nicknamed ‘Mother Squid’ (but never ‘Octomom’) or ‘Sea Witches’, Scyllans often commanded the handful of submarine warships the Darkwaters managed to acquire/rebuild for power projection against the Splugorth, campaigns they pursued with zeal. It was rumored, for instance, that the Scyllans feasted on the bones of vanquished Horune pirates, and drank from the skulls of Splugorth Slavers. Other claims have been made that these Elite amuse themselves by hunting giant squid, Stidjron, Naut’Yll, and Devil Kraken for sport. As noted before, the Scyllan is found in the ranks of both the Darkwaters and Horrorwoods. This transmigration of Elite designs is indicative of the close ties between the two Tribes when it came to the Horrorwoods of the Shemarrian Star Nation taking over many of the amphibious warfare roles that the Darkwaters conducted on Rifts Earth. Scyllan Elites are rare, but being based on War Chiefs, they are typically assigned high command positions in charge of DeepWatch bases or deep space facilities. Abilities Sensors Sonar The Scylla has a sonar with a range of 3 miles. Underwater Motion Detection This consists of a skin network of temperature and pressure sensors that pick up changes in the immediate surrounding environment. As long as the gynoid is wearing little or nothing in the way of coverings that would interfere with the sensors, they give the Scyllan a +2 to Initiative, Dodge and Roll underwater. Depth Gauge The Scylla has a depth gauge to keep track its depth. Special Systems Buoyancy Regulator The Scyllans can control their own buoyancy through the use of special internal varying-state gel ‘organs’. Tentacles (8) The tentacles are 12 ft reach each, Robotic P.S. of 35, +15% to Climbing skill, -2 to strike w/ melee weapons, -3 to strike w/ ranged weapons. Molecular Adhesion Pads The octopus legs are studded with multiple molecular adhesion pads, allowing the Scylla to cling to just about any surface, get a grip on such about anything, and do extra damage tearing multiple silver dollar-sized swaths of skin off a target. Weapons Systems Blue-Green Frequency Wrist Lasers (2) These wrist lasers are similar to the standard lasers, excepted designed with blue-green frequency to allowing them to fire both above and below water with no penalties. Forearm Ion Blaster (2) In place of the War Chieftain’s light plasma ejector, the Scylla mounts an ion blaster. The ion blasters also have an area of effect ‘spray’ mode for dealing with multiple targets. Ion Scatter-Shot Mode: Reduce range to 400 ft, but does 4d6 MD to a 12 ft wide area. Retractable Tentacle VibroBlades (8) Each tentacle conceals in its end a retracting harpoon-like vibroblade. Damage: +2d4 MD to a tentacle punch/slash Retractable Tentacle Vibrospikes The multiple molecular adhesion ‘sucker’ pads hold a small extendable ‘tooth-spike’ in their centers, that provides additional anchoring traction, but which also add to the damage on a punch, by ‘biting’ into a struck target and removing silver dollar-sized swaths of skin and flesh when the tentacles pry loose. Ink Jet A modification of the chemical sprayer system, this system can be used to release a dark, clouding chemical that obscures vision and also has some effect on sonar systems. In air, the system can also be used to spray a jet to blind targets, but a call to strike must be made to aim the fluid at eyes or optics. In the alternative, the ink can be replaced with Gill Clog chemicals, the formula for which was stolen from the Kittani (see Rifts: Underseas. pg 174). Damage: Creates a blinding cloud in the water that’s virtually impossible to see through (-5 to strike, parry, dodge, disarm, and entangle). Even sonar effectiveness will be degraded 50% (HALF bonuses if using sonar targeting to shoot through the cloud). In air, an accurate hit in a target’s eyes will cause them to be temporarily blind; -10 to strike, parry, dodge, disarm, and entangle for 2d6 melee rounds. Those with eye protection will suffer only HALF penalties for 1d6 melee rounds, as the oily chemical tends to stick and smear. Use of Handheld Weapons Scyllans can use any handheld weapon, especially Shemarrian weapons. Many Scyllans favor bayonet-equipped rail guns (firing modified super cavitating underwater ammunition) or large spears/harpoons/polearms. Combat The following bonuses are in addition to any the Scyllan gets from additional skills/modifications Actions/Attacks Per Melee: 9 +4 tentacle attacks, + 1 additional attack at levels 3, 6, and 12 Paired Weapons Programming/Skills The skills of the EShemar Scyllans depend on their origins and their level of experience. Progen-born Scyllans will start with the full base hand to hand combat programming of the Shemarrian Warchief, but retain/add W.P. Energy Pistol. W.P. Energy Rifle, W.P. Heavy MDC Weapons (all at 8th level), replace W.P. Axe with W.P. Harpoon & Spear Gun, W.P. Targeting with W.P. Grappling Hooks. W.P. Polearm with W.P. Tridents (all at 9th level). ADD: Can acquire additional skills as normal for an Ecotroz Nueral Intelligence. Psionics: As for the Ecotroz. About 30% of Scyllans are also Psi-Shamanesses. Options Tentacle Mail A set of segmented applique armor sections that can be added to the Scylla’s tentacle-legs, adding +60 MDC to them, but restricting mobility somewhat: -1 to strike, parry, and entangle with them. Variants EShemar Dw-Scyllan-Astra This is the dedicated deep space variant exclusive to the Shemarrian Star Nation Darkwaters Tribe. The following changes are made to the base Scylla Repulsor Tethers One Upgrade that is unique to the Darkwaters is the Repulsor Tether. Darkwater members are modified with implants that allow them to fly effortlessly inside and around their spacecraft when in zero-gee without the need of kicking off surfaces or wasteful reaction jets, but by alternate attraction/repulsion between their own bodies and the structures of their ships. With the RT system, Darkwaters crew members can flit about their ships at running speed, effortlessly. The RT system also provides a safety net when performing EVAs; the crew members can fly about (at up to x4 times their maximum running speed) their spacecraft like orbiting satellites (effective range; 12-15 ft for ships of 15 tons mass or less, up to 50 ft for ships of up to 6,000 tons mass, and up to 200 ft for ships of 50,000 tons mass or more), making them deadly adversaries in close combat about their spacecraft. Space Propulsion System A system of jets and a mini-CG jetpack that allow the Scylla to fly through space at roughly Mach 1.3 Programming Replaces the above exclusive programming with the following: Category:Darkwaters Category:DeepWatch Category:Scylla Category:Elite